


Compromised

by Spirits_Among_Stars



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon characters mentioned - Freeform, Disabled Character, Insomnia, Oh, Paranoia, Problem Powers, Woops, contains references to the other marvel movies, i also apologise for being gone for so long, not much else as of yet, will update the tags as the chapters go on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-03-27 10:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spirits_Among_Stars/pseuds/Spirits_Among_Stars
Summary: The moment she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, she knew her life was in danger. The moment she left Fury in the safe house, she knew she couldn't return until it was over. She couldn't contact anyone; everyone was HYDRA until proven otherwise.Updated twice monthly or monthly, depending how I get on with the other chapters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hoooo boy, I apologise for being gone for such a long time but life happened aaaand I ended up starting more stories but never finishing them before going onto more stories I wanted to write and never uploading them. Oops, I suck! Haha! BUT I am back now, hopefully, if I don't get lazy. I had originally intended this to be up and done by Infinity War but that ain't gonna happen for sure.
> 
> So, this takes place during and after the events of Captain America: The Winter Solder and is a sequel to Gabriella Ackerly; Orgins, but you can read this without reading that if you like. Whatever, I don't make the rulez. Yeah, that right, with a rules with a z... I'm sorry about that, got carried away. 
> 
> Anyway, let's get on with the story!

The moment she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised, she knew her life was in danger. The moment she left Fury in the safe house, she knew she couldn't return until it was over. She couldn't contact anyone; everyone was HYDRA until proven otherwise. What Gabriella needed to do was to locate and enter the local abandoned safe house. But if S.H.I.E.L.D. was comprised then HYDRA would be there waiting for her. But not this safe house though... Hopefully. S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised and HYDRA rose from the ashes right under their noses. She couldn't believe it but she had to hand it to them the insurrection was well thought out. It happened right beneath them and they had no idea. Nick was fooled. Maria Hill was fooled. She was fooled. Everyone loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. was fooled.  
  
S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised and they knew everything about her. Aliases, safe houses, past, and the O.R.B.S failure, all of it. She couldn't trust anyone. She had to blend in with the crowd just like a normal Doctor with an amputation... and weird ass powers. It wouldn't be that hard, hiding the powers was easy, her leg thought was metal and set of metal detectors... And it was a little noticeable too as the foot poked out from under her trouser leg. There wasn't a point for her to wear a shoe because she made it to be much more longer lasting than any other shoe out there. With the amount of running and jumping she does, a normal shoe would just get worn out, much like the one on her right foot.  
  
In the distance behind her, Steve and new guy Sam Wilson took out the Hellicarriers with Maria, Nick and Nat. Their plan was simple enough and she only wished she was there helping them, but she had an old dog to find.  
  
Blending in didn't last long. She hadn't even reached the main streets of DC when the stereotypical bad guy SUV came hurtling around the corner. Damn CCTV cameras. And then another five on foot came out of nowhere! Damn it! Gabriella took off sprinting but she did have an advantage. Unlike them, her weapon didn't require reloading and her aim was much better too. But she did have no back-up, that was a problem, so her skills were going to be put to the test. Over her shoulder she sent a quick blast, only taking a quick glance to get the aim right. Luckily the aim was true. The next shot, not so much, it shattered a nearby shop window. Cursing under her breath, Gabriella decided that she had to lose them and lose them fast. Getting off the streets and into close-quarter alleys would be the best idea for keeping the people safe and for killing HYDRA.  
  
The doctor continued down the street trying to find a decent alley to lose them in, firing at the pursuing agents when she got the chance. A black SUV skidded to an abrupt halt in front of her and she fired a large blast of energy at the vehicle, sending it halfway down the street it came from. "Get out of the way!" Clearly some people hadn't noticed the fight going on and were just simply going about their day like nothing was happening. Bullets whizzed past her head and rang in the air. Gabriella tackled a woman to stop her getting hit by a stray bullet. HYDRA really needed to work on their aim. The doctor quickly apologised and was off once again. Another bullet got far too close and she pivoted, sending a brilliant blue light into the awaiting chest of a HYDRA agent.  
  
Another bad guy SUV skidded to a stop before her. With barely enough time for her to react, they fired something at her chest. Rolling out of the way, she was close to missing it but it struck her arm. Whatever they shot her with had the effect of making her stumble and head swim. The doctor quickly brushed off the shot and hurled a large blue blast inside of the SUV. It exploded and she sprinted away, throwing another blast over her shoulder for good measure. Gabriella's sight blurred and suddenly there was two of everything. Twice as many people on the streets, twice as many people to keep out of harms way, twice as many HYDRA after her. Wait... that was an actual thing. Uh oh.  
  
Behind her eyes throbbed and Gabriella started to stumble over her feet and stagger as she ran; HYDRA getting ever closer to her. She lobbed a blast over her shoulder but veered into a near by café table, like she had one too many drinks. A man yelped in shock and sprinted back into the café. Shaking the dizziness from her head, Gabriella resumed her running but it didn't take long for the dizziness to return with vengeance. She could barely see straight let alone run straight and HYDRA were gaining on her fast. Every step felt like she was wading through knee high mud and it was only getting denser and denser, and harder and harder. They weren't going to kill her, not today. Today, she was going to survive. She _had_ to.  
  
As she turned to fire another blast at her pursers, someone full on tackled her to the ground. The force left her winded and completely unable to move. Everything was numb and her vision pulsed with blackness. Her dizzy head made opening her eyes agonisingly painful and even the attempt to push off her assailant hurt just as much. Firing a blast sent prickly pins and needles down her arms and somehow she found herself face down on the path with a heavy weight on her back and loud indistinct noises around her. Her palms tickled. Her heart beat like a hummingbird's. Everything suddenly got a lot hotter and heavier. A blinding flash burned her eyes and she fell into unconsciousness.

 

* * *

 

  
The distorted world faded into clarity. All sounds were no longer one clomp of noise but individual. People murmured, confused and loud; friend or foe, she didn't know. What she did know was that there was a lot of them, so if it was really was foe, she was screwed. Nothing hurt. No pins and needles in her arms, no pounding heart, no aching legs from running for her life, nothing. But she was warm though, oddly enough; from head to toe, she was warm, despite laying on cold ground. Fighting her way to consciousness was like fighting through wave after wave of Chitauri back in New York, relentless and never ending and damn near impossible. She really hoped that it wasn't HYDRA around her, because honestly she wouldn't be able to fight them all off. Gabriella's eyes finally opened and she found herself staring at charred pavement.  
  
"What the hell happened?!" That elderly woman took the words right out of her head. Said woman sounded very close to her.  
  
"Is she alright? Is she hurt?" This one was a man, probably a teenager or a young adult, standing a little further away.  
  
Feet felt very close to her and someone kneeled. "Hey, uh, you okay?" A soft spoken woman, someone Teagan's age. The woman's hand touched her back and Gabriella flinched at the feeling, bolting upright onto her haunches. The woman beside her looked very worried indeed. "Oh! I'm sorry," her hand went back to her side. "You were laying there awhile. We don't know what happened, just that there was a lot of shooting, a flash, then nothing and you... laying there." Oh, what the hell did she do?! Now that she was sitting up, her head started to swim and throb. "Do you know what happened?"  
  
"I..." Gabriella rubbed her right temple with the palm of her hand, "I don't really know." Attacked, shot, fall; that was she remembered. And waking up, but that was it. The fight with the Helicarriers filled the air around them but they were more concerned with her. Not good. Whatever she did left HYDRA dead and gone and everyone around her was in trouble. Gabriella sluggishly got to her feet.  
  
A loud realising gasp came from the gathered crowd and a young girl in an Iron Man/Black Widow get-up ambled forward from watching behind her father's leg. "Wait a minute! I know you! You're with the Avengers from New York! You stopped the aliens!" Murmurs arose from the crowd as they all came to the same conclusion. Hopefully these were the type that didn't positively hate the Avengers for the destruction. Unlike _some_ , she did help to try and clean up.  
  
"Oh yeah!" someone shouted from deep in the crowd. "You fought with the Hulk!"  
  
"Stark too!"  
  
Normally she enjoyed anyone young and old coming up asking her for a picture or to talk about working with the Avengers and what they were like but now was not the time for that. HYDRA propaganda would eventually surface and everyone who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. would be branded as terrorists. Her included. They wouldn't be this excited to see her for long. She was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. long before she was an Avenger and her bloody past would end up being revealed to the world. The poor kids...  
  
Another young voice snapped her out of it, "Don't forget Captain America! What was he like?!"  
  
"And the bow guy!" For some reason that made her really want to laugh. "He was there!"  
  
"And-!" a new older male voice shouted from a little closer to the front. "Don't forget you got my mother killed!" Uh oh, time to go.  
  
"That were the aliens!" a woman protested. "She didn't shoot yer mother!"  
  
The crowd quickly began to argue about the various view points everyone had about the Avengers and their role in turning New York into a bomb sight. That was definitely her cue to leave but as she began to back away from the arguing, the woman from beside her grabbed her arm. The doctor's eyes darted to the hand then to the face. _"Not so fast, doctor," the woman warned._ Gabriella's heart raced and threatened to burst out of her chest. "Hey, are you okay?" The simple words startled her way more than it should've and the woman beside her returned to her normal nice self.  
  
Did... did that actually happen? Her head hurt.  
  
The doctor nodded her head and rubbed her temples harder than she needed to. "I'm fine; I need to leave." The noise from the crowd got louder and louder and louder. She had to go... Louder. But she has to stop this first before it could out of hand; what they did to New York was a strong subject. "Hey! Everyone!" she shouted to no avail. No one was remotely paying attention and she really needed to wrap this up, so she sent a crackling ball of energy over their heads and detonated it. They all silenced and looked her. "I understand your strong views regarding what we did in New York. From my point, we did as best we could in the time we were given and things would've been a lot worse if we hadn't intervened; a lot more people would've died." They didn't need to know about the nuclear bomb that was almost dropped on Manhattan. "We really tried our hardest to keep the aliens near the Tower but they don't care for police cordons or us killing them to stop them going after you." Gabriella looked at the gathered crowds' faces. "I'm really sorry that your homes and businesses were destroyed, and family and friends were killed, I really am. Saying that won't bring them back, I know, but I am saying it anyway. I really am sorry." Her piece was said, so it was time to leave. Before anyone could protest or comment, she sprinted away. Away from the crowd. Away from the chaos. Towards the safe house where she really hoped it was still safe.  
  
Gabriella ran for the nearest empty alley with the intention of staying away from the main streets and even some of the side ones just in case someone decided to attack her out in the open. Pain started returning and her body and legs ached once more. Hearing a noise behind her, she pushed herself to go faster, continuing to run in the direction of the safe house but not taking the obvious direct route. Her prosthetic spasmed and sent her plummeting to the floor. The doctor exclaimed out of pain and rolled onto her back, rubbing her face. What the hell was that? She let out another groan of pain and slowly sat up. Time was not something she had for a dodgy leg but she had to check it out. Quickly, she rolled up her trouser leg and inspected the damage. Nothing. Only a few scratches and knocks and dents from the various fights she's fought. It definitely couldn't be a glitch, Stark made it and she upgraded it; that couldn't be what it was. Nor was it her thigh because that was fine too. What this needed was the proper equipment and not her human eye, to find the damage. That could wait. She had to move!  
  
Planting her hands beside herself, she pushed up with them and her good leg to hopefully successfully stand. However as she tried to shift her weight onto the other leg, it buckled under the pressure and she slammed into the dumpster again. Gabriella cursed under her breath. What the hell was wrong? Was it her? Maybe she was making herself weak? No, that couldn't be right; how would that work anyway? And why did her head still bloody hurt!? The doctor took a deep breath. This wasn't getting her anywhere. She could think about her leg and where the HYDRA agents disappeared to once she got to safety...  
  
Now she thought about it... where did they go? They were there and then they were gone. She had one _on top_ of her and then he was gone. What did that woman say? There was a flash? Gabriella didn't remember a flash, but that stranger wouldn't lie... would she? Was there a flash? There had to have been, right? Maybe? Maybe that could be affecting her? The flash she doesn't remember. But what the _hell_ happened to HYDRA?! The flash was the common denominator, perhaps that... was... what got them? Her powers were still really alien to her. Some kind of defence mechanism maybe? She had no idea. What she did know was that HYDRA was no longer after her, for the time being anyway.  
  
The safe house. She had to get to the safe house. It was still a few blocks away but she had to get there and being on her ass wouldn't solve anything or get her there faster. Once again she planted her hands beside herself and managed to successfully get to her feet, albeit rather shakily. When she was safe, this was a problem to solve. First she had to get safe. With a deep breath, she set off for the safe house in a half-running limp.


	2. Chapter 2

Tall buildings loomed over her as she staggered into the small courtyard outside of the safe house. Gabriella stumbled against the wall where the door was and shuffled along it, slowly edging towards the door. It only opened to the touch of a S.H.I.E.L.D agent so _h_ _opefully_ it would let her in. Pressing where the door handle would usually be, the outline faded into vision and heavy steel door opened with a really annoying creak. The doctor stumbled in but she couldn't breathe a sigh of relief just yet. She needed to make sure that the area was safe and with no hostiles in sight before she could relax and sort out her damn leg. Quietly moving down the steps, she took one at a time so avoid spooking anyone if they were inside and to keep the element of surprise on her side. One step creaked and her heart leapt into her throat. Oh, bloody Nora! Thankfully she heard no response from below and continued on down the long flight of stairs.  
  
Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, she peered around the corner and looked into the main hub. It was one large room filled with computers, huge dusty screens, tables and chairs. Well, it didn't look like anyone was in here but looks could be deceiving. Gabriella stared at the various electronics and dared to take a step in, with her hand up and ready to fire if someone jumped on her.  
  
It was _so_ silent. Only a few good people knew the existence of this place and luckily they weren't secretly HYDRA. Gabriella could hear the irritating tick tocking of a clock from a few rooms down; okay, maybe it wasn't so quiet. With narrowed eyes, she slowly scoured the hub for a sign of the enemy but the dust seemed to be undisturbed and the chairs unmoved. So it would seem that _this_ place had at least seen no life. Alas she still had more to search.  
  
Next she checked the break room and kitchen, undisturbed yet again; the large gym, nothing; the bedrooms, ensuites and garages, more nothing; then finally the offices, labs, and other entrance, one whole load of nada. Gabriella finally concluded her search by flopping down on the red dirty couch in the break room with a heavy sigh. She was the only soul in the entire safe house. Over 7 billion people in the world, and roughly 650,000 people walking right over her head, she was the only person in the entire compound. She had no Orion to keep her busy; no really bad Clint Barton jokes to make her laugh; no Bruce Banner boring everyone aside her and Stark about science; no Maria Hill; no best friend Teagan Meyer. No one, absolutely no one. It was _just_ her. The loneliness was so overwhelming, she felt like she's about to burst! But she _wasn't_ going to freak out. She was going to remain _calm_.  
  
Exhaling a lengthy, calmly sigh, Gabriella pushed herself up and sat with her legs over the edge of the sofa. Okay, so, it was just her. First priority was to check her leg and hopefully have some background noise to get rid of this _silence_. To start off with, however, she pulled off her prosthetic leg, setting it aside for later inspection, and yanked off her sock. Gabriella rubbed her aching stump with one hand and fumbled around the couch with the other for the television remote. It was wedged behind her ass, right at the bottom among... something furry... "Oh gross. I don't know if I want that to be a dead mouse or moldy food," she pulled out the remote and frowned to herself. "A mouse would be a skeleton at this point..." she mused to herself. "I'm going to stop talking about that know." The doctor pressed the on button and nothing happened. "No power. Obviously. Marvelous," she mumbled. She chucked the remote onto the coffee table and sighed once more.  
  
Now she thought about it, who specifically at HYDRA wanted her dead? Everyone did, of course, but _who_ engineered the hit teams? There was Jasper Mac Eoghain, a long standing member of HYDRA who's tried to kill her at least five times, maybe more. He's also been the leader of a few gang rings and headed an illegal alien tech distribution company selling from within the Fridge. When she sniffed him out and gave his name to Fury, he vowed he would kill if it was the last thing he did, and was promptly dealt with.  
  
Then there was her former physiotherapist, Doctor Erin Hook, and wasn't that a shock and a half! It was a few years ago now. She was in the gym, still getting used to lacking a leg and minding her own business when Erin came flying in with her gun hot. Naturally  she completely taken aback by the surprise attack and even accidentally shot the woman with those damn powers of hers. To think that she was terrified of her powers back then... actually she was still terrified but not as much as she was. It used to cause her numerous sleepless nights and nightmares but as much any more. Anyway, Erin was arrested after Teagan and Coulson heard the commotion, which turned into a power struggle on the floor of the gym. As it turned out, Erin was a sleeper agent, told to get close to her, be her friend, find a weak spot then put her down.  
  
And then there was the array of criminals she's put behind bars and associates of people she's killed, trying to get back at her. A real long list it was.  
  
With a sigh, Gabriella pulled out her scrunchy and ran a hand through her hair.  Okay, leg, she had to sort that out, but she couldn't do it without having a lovely cuppa. Yeah, like she could make one without power. Or could she? Well, hopefully they still had supplies here. She did have weird abilities after all and she still barely scratched the surface in discovering what she could do. The doctor quickly put her leg back on and shuffled over the kitchenette. It took several searches of the cupboards to find what she needed but when it came to the milk... well, it was more like cheese, so she did _not_ touch that. Finding a tea bag was a stroke of damn luck and what else was lucky was finding a load of dirty mugs in the furthest cupboard and a lone tablespoon.   
  
"Safe house, my left bum cheek," she mumbled to herself. "You're meant to be fully stocked at all times with _non-_ perishables because you never know when freaks like me will turn up." Gabriella shrugged and run the tap.   
  
No water appeared for a short while before it sputtered out at a decent rate and the colour was nothing unnatural. She filled up her mug with the barely warm water and stirred the cold concoction with the tablespoon. Once she finished, she put the mug on her open palm and heated it up with her abilities; it wasn't one of the stranger things she could do. All she did was concentrate her powers in one palm, instead of throwing it at someone.  
  
While she waited for it to heat up since time was not of the essence at the moment, Gabriella stared out to the computers. There was no power in the safe house and she didn't particularly fancy turning it on just in case HYDRA would show up. She liked being alone but this... this was no time for being alone. All loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents needed to band together to stop HYDRA, then again if they were all in the same place then they'd be sitting ducks. What to do, what to do. She needed access to a computer, not these ones, or _something_ that would allow her to sneak into HYDRA's, or S.H.I.E.L.D's, mainframe and discover who wanted her dead, but it would be a while before that happened. First, she had to find out what the hell was wrong with her leg, if there was anything wrong with it at all. It... it could all be in her head.  
  
But it could not be.  
  
Getting paranoid over nothing wasn't going to help her, so with a heated mug of tea that was probably going to taste gross in hand, Gabriella returned to the soft couch, placed her drink on the coffee table, took off her prosthesis and put it down next to her mug. The doctor leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees only to quickly remember that she, in fact, had only one knee and not two. So, instead of her right elbow getting her knee, it hit the hard bit of the couch and caught her directly on the funny bone, making her toes curl. Gabriella swore loudly and rubbed her elbow, forgoing the need to return her left elbow to her left knee just in cause of a repeat. "I'm an idiot," she mumbled, shuffling forward to inspect her leg.  
  
For starters was the socket, which was in great condition since she cleaned it regularly. Then she checked the joints of the knee and ankle by giving it a good wiggle and quick stress test; all good there. They weren't squeaking or grinding against each other. Next came the exterior... immaculate save for the various scratches and dents she's been unable to get out. The colour had only really dulled on the soul of the foot but that was to be expected. Now for intricate workings on the inside, some of her proudest work. Gabriella took off the panel from the back of the calf, that only opened to her touch, and inspected the inside the best she could without her tools. All good on that front too. No loose wires, no burnt out central processor or motherboard, and nothing was crushed. Everything was okay and it made her a little mad. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it! Maybe it was her after all? No, it wasn't her... It couldn't be her.... Definitely not her. The doctor out the panel back in the calf and sat back in her chair with a sigh.  
  
Maybe it _was_ her?  
  
Gabriella shook her head and looked down at the table. Her hands were shaking. With a sigh, she grasped her right hand with her left and just stared at them. What a complete wreck. Did... Did whatever happen the street do this to her? Did that leave her trembling like a leaf on a windy day? The doctor sipped her slightly gross tea and rubbed her face with a free hand. She needed to rest. She needed to calm down. She needed to relax. What she needed was her friends but that wasn't going to happen. No way.  
  
Sleep. _That_ was what she needed. It's been a long day, she didn't know what the time was, and she had to have a clear head going into this... this... whatever this was! Yeah, sleep, good idea. Stifling a yawn, she pulled on her stump sock and popped on her prosthetic leg. Okay, was her leg still going to be weird with walking or back to normal since there was _nothing_ wrong with it? Hopefully normal. While still on the couch, she tested her leg by rotating it on the floor before kicking at the coffee table. All good so far. Then for the task of standing. Planting her hands either side of her, Gabriella slowly pushed herself upright and her prosthesis didn't freak out. Yet. She flexed out the leg a few times and jumped also. Still all good. Well, if it was going to flip out, it would have done so already so with that in mind, she set off for the corridor of bedrooms with her tea in hand. Gabriella wanted a small-ish one that didn't smell bad and was a little colourful as a nice contrast from the grey, white and black safe house walls.  
  
The second bedroom she looked in, Gabriella decided was hers because she couldn't really be bothered to search further. She locked the door behind her and flopped down on the bed with a heavy sigh. Usually Orion would jump into the bed and sleep beside her, but now he was somewhere in the city and she had no idea where. Her mission after leaving Nick and the others was to find her dog and so far she's succeeded in finding HYDRA and not him. Tomorrow then. After sleep she'll head out to find him. Gabriella took off her jacket and trousers without moving from her laying position, yanked off her shoe and pulled off her prosthesis, resting it on the bed beside her. Rolling to the head of the bed, she lifted the covers and slipped into the cold bed. When she finds Orion tomorrow, her next task would be to get the power in the place working because it was only going to get colder at night.  
  
Gabriella plumped over her pillow and pulled the covers high over her shoulders. Time for her to hope that her insomnia didn't come to bite her in the ass because she really wanted sleep tonight.  
  
And sleep she got, albeit restlessly.  
  
  
The HYDRA agents gained on her. Gabriella stumbled over her legs. Wait a damn minute, she's watching _herself_? Watching... watching what happened! Collapsing on a heap on the floor, she watched as her palms sparked... _no_! Her entire body crackled like a firework, blue sparks skittering across her body! The air temperature rose around her. She could _fe_ _el_ it like she was there. HYDRA agents stood all around her with their weapons trained on her and only her. One pressed a gun to her head and two others had... something on their hands, all undeterred with the sight before them. A _bright_ blue light pulsed out from her body.   
  
Every single one of them _disintegrated_. _All_ of them. Nothing was left behind. They were all atoms on the wind. Dead. _All dead_.

  
  
With a scream, she bolted upright with ragged breathing and a sweaty forehead. What the _fuck_ was that?! What the _hell_ did she just _witness_?! She stared out at the pitch black room, nothing lit the shadows and it only made her heart race more. The doctor wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and lay back on the bed with a heavy exhale. The darkness encased her. It weaved its dark tendrils all over her vulnerable body and mind. It seeped into her very soul as it got small and smaller around her. Her breathing got father and faster and her head got lighter and lighter. The silence was deafening, attacking her mind with everything it had. She was _completely alone_. No one care where she was. She was _alone_. Gabriella flung a blue flare into the air.   
  
Lighting the room in a blue glow, the darkness retreated instantly and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Freaking our wasn't going to get her anywhere.  
  
Then she heard a noise.  
  
One she _didn't make_.


	3. Chapter 3

There it was again.  
  
That _noise_.  
  
A noise she _wasn't_ making or sure of what it was and she certainly wasn't dreaming it. Someone was in the bunker. _Someone_ was in the bunker. How the hell did they get in? Wait... but she shut the door behind her, right? Did she? No, she had to have shut it because it wasn't like her to leave it open. Maybe she forgot? No, no, she _definitely_ closed it. Only a few at S.H.I.E.L.D knew about this place... hopefully it was one of the good ones; it had to be. Throwing the warm covers off herself, Gabriella made light work in putting on her prosthesis. Why did everything suddenly have to echo around here? She couldn't even tell how far away the noise was! With the prosthetic leg freak-out in the back of her mind, the doctor carefully tiptoed out of her dark room and into the _slightly_ lighter corridor.  
  
All the hair on her body stood up on end as she stepped out and she raised her hands up, ready for anything. The noise was louder, and was an odd one too. It wasn't the sound lockpicking or boots on the floor... it was more like claws? Oh _crap_ , did HYDRA have sniffer dogs now? Now she was definitely _screwed_ ; they knew where she was! Not only that! Whoever it was had a flashlight and it bounced off every surface to illuminate the intruder's way. Why were they being so quiet? They had to have known that she was in here. Just kill her already and get it over with!  
  
Gabriella carefully light-footed her way towards the source of the flashlight: The main hub of computers. If there were two, then she could definitely take them but three or more, maybe not, because they were no doubt armed. But she never knew. The doctor swallowed and moved closer to the door.  
  
The hairs on her neck stood on end. Behind her!  
  
Before she could turn around, something large and hairy? tackled her to the ground, and before she could retaliate, loud, happy barking filled the quiet safe house. "Orion?!" she exclaimed, shocked, as the flashlight swept over them. Her blue merle border collie licked her face in between barks and she rubbed his fluffy flanks, grinning like a Cheshire cat. " _Orion!_ My boy!" she laughed happily. How the hell did he get here? He wasn't a sniffer dog, at this point he was a therapy dog!  
  
"Wow, that dog really missed you!" Wait a minute, she knew that voice... Yeah, she knew that!  
  
Gabriella peered passed her dog's fluffy body. "Shiori?!" she cackled like a damn giddy witch. She wasn't alone anymore! Yeah, she knew her! It was Shiori Tabori, someone whose life she saved years ago; she was the same age of Teagan. They've remained in contact ever since. There she stood with a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other. Oh, thank you, world!  
  
Shiori just laughed, shaking her head, "Wow, doc, you sound like this is the first time you've seen people in a decade."  
  
"It feels like it!" she kissed Orion on the nose and gently pushed him aside so she could stand up. Once she was back on her feet, he nudged her leg for another fuss and the doctor gladly obliged. "You're a good doggo, aren't ya boy?" Orion made a happy noise. "I can't believe you found me!" Gabriella looked up at Shiori and gave her a quick hug too. "What happened to you? Where did you find Orion? What time of day is it? What's happened to-?"  
  
Shiori cut her off with a calming hand on her shoulder. "Breathe, doc." Gabriella did as ordered. _Stop freaking out._ "Well, I made it out of the Triskellion shortly after Rogers made his pretty sweet announcement. HYDRA had just put my department on lockdown so it was a bit hard to get out. I know of a few safe houses around D.C so I went looking for some, hoping HYDRA didn't have access. Bad idea that was. They were all crawling with HYDRA. So I kinda wondered the streets for a bit, trying to find someone good." Orion continued to rub his head against Gabriella's leg and she kept scratching his head. "I found Orion pawing at some charred ground with this homeless dude trying to pet him and get him to come with him, but Orion wasn't having any of it. He just wanted to stay by the ground. When he saw me, he got happy, and then we came here. It's now midnight." _Midnight?_ Holy shit, she slept for longer than she thought! "Oh, Rogers, Romanoff and the others, they're all in hiding. Do you know about the Hellicarriers?"  
  
"Yeah, I know about them; I was tuned into their radio frequency before I was attacked by HYDRA. I lost my ear piece during the struggle and haven't heard anything since." Gabriella really hoped they were alright. It sounded really bad when she was running. "The power doesn't work in here and I daren't turn it on. What else?"  
  
"Not much else really. HYRDA has really messed with us. They are _everywhere_ ," Shiori sighed, shaking her head. "How the hell did we miss it, doc?"  
  
"I don't know and I wish I did. A lot of people are going to die on both sides." The two woman sighed and shared a quiet moment. If they were everything, she might've seen those HYDRA that attacked her or more. "On your way here, did you see any suspicions people?"  
  
The younger woman shook her head, "Nope. Why?"  
  
Okay, she definitely messed those HYDRA up _big time_ , but there were still more of them after her. It was probably best not to tell her about... what happened. "I was chased by several HYDRA agents before I got here. I managed to loose them but their lack of activity worries me..." Hang on, what did she say? "Wait, you said charred ground?"  
  
She slowly nodded her head. "Yeah? It looked like someone set a flamethrower on the floor but it only affected a small amount of ground around it," she told her. "Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd say it was a really big blast off you but it looked too... dark, I guess, to be one of yours."  
  
Oh dear, oh dear. "Was it near a cafe?"  
  
Shiori looked really confused. "Yes?"  
  
Definitely her. "It was me."  
  
"It _was_?" she asked, still confused. "How was it you? That looked to have been too powerful for you. How?"  
  
She wished she knew. "I don't know... I got attacked, and they knocked me down and everything kinda goes blank. When I came to, HYDRA were gone and people were standing around me." If she told Shiori about her weird dream about seeing it from a third person perspective, then she'd think she was a _complete_ lunatic, more so than she already did.  
  
"Why would HYDRA attack you?"  
  
" _Seriously_? Do I really need to answer that question?!" she snapped. Shiori looked rather hurt by that and Gabriella sighed. _Well done, Gabriella._ "Sorry..." what an idiot. "I'm still a scientific mystery to everyone and they really want to know what happened to me; I can't blame them for that. It doesn't help that I'm a close friend of Fury's, who knows a lot of secrets about S.H.E.I.L.D."  
  
"They just want you for your power more than they do your knowledge."  
  
At this point, probably. They could easily get S.H.I.E.L.D information now, but not her. "Maybe..."  
  
"So," Shiori drawled, fiddling with her hands, "what do you think it was that you did? Have you done it before?"  
  
Gabriella shrugged, "I've never done it before. I reckon it's some kind of defense mechanism, but I'm not sure." Not a damn clue.  
  
"Whatever it is, is devastating." Gabriella couldn't deny that. It sure was.  
  
The two women headed back to the break room with one of the good Doctor's blue energy balls lighting the way, as well as Shiori's flashlight. It didn't help much with the looming darkness around them. Gabriella had another thought on her mind. One about those HYDRA that attacked her. They managed to down her. "They weren't ordinary HYDRA after me, it was a hit squad," she said, continuing her thoughts, and Shiori looked at her. "Professional. They managed to actually knock me down. Not many can do that. Someone ordered that squad to chase me and I need to know who." She _had_ to know who. "They timed the attack right, just as HYDRA announced themselves to S.H.I.E.L.D, they sent them to attack me. I was trying to find Orion when they attacked." Orion's ears pricked up hearing his name. "I don't think I've run so fast in my life."  
  
"And then you came here. Do they know this place exists?"  
  
"If they don't, they will do soon," Gabriella said. That hit squad was very dangerous to her and more so to everyone else around her. With a sigh, she stopped walking and a confused Shiori turned to face her. "You're in danger by being with me, you know?"  
  
Shiori's face softened. "I know that, and I'm not going anywhere even if it gets me killed."  
  
Oh, dear Shiori... "Are you sure? Just because I saved your life once doesn't mean I can guarantee it again."  
  
"You can't do this alone and I can't thank you enough," she told her. "Seriously, I never thought _you_ of all people would risk your life to save mine! The great Doctor Gabriella Ackerly. You fascinated me even before you got your powers and then you saved me!" If she wasn't so on edge at the moment, she'd probably be crying right now. She wasn't that great a person. The woman's mind was made: Staying. "I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Somehow during their conversation, they had reached the break room and the blue ball of light still hovered in front of them. "Okay... Okay. I'll guess I'll have to keep you with me then."  
  
Shiori laughed, "You'll have too, doc. So, what's first?"  
  
Feeling her hands starting to shake, Gabriella folded her arms. "See if you can find a way to get this place up and running without alerting HYDRA. I would but this place is old and old tech is what you're good at. Besides, I need to have another think about who _specifically_ wants me dead."  
  
"Good luck with that. It's a long list." Gabriella agreed to her statement with a nod and sighed a bit too heavily. Concern came over Shiori's features, "Are you alright, doc?"  
  
The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, why?"  
  
The astute agent shook her head, "You're on edge and if you really don't want the power on just say," and gave her a soft smile.  
  
This time it was Gabriella that shook her head, "No. We need it on. We need to kick this bunker back into life and have it _safe_ again. I want this place on _l_ _ockdown_." And light. Light was good.  
  
"Lockdown you will get. Lights will be first priority but if I can get everything on at once, then we should be good."  
  
"Excellent," the doctor said with smile. "Now, I'll show you were to go. Like everything we've built, we have an affinity for long corridors and awkward turns, and no lifts." Shiori laughed and Gabriella lead her towards the generator which was for some reason near the garage. Orion followed at his owner's heels, very happy to have her back in his proximity. Before long, they reached the generator room. "And here we are."  
  
The trio headed in and Shiori did not look impressed. "You could've told me it was so _szar_ (shit) in here."  
  
"Careful, you sound like your mother," she joked. Shiori just rolled her eyes at doctor as she continued to look at the scene. It was just a standard old S.H.I.E.L.D generator to her that was in need of some serious TLC. "So, it's that bad?"  
  
"It sure is! Just by looking at it I can tell that there is no way I'll be able to get this thing working without an exterior power source to kick-start it."  
  
"An exterior power source?" Such a bad idea just popped into her head. She _had_ power after all. "What about me?" _Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea!_  
  
Shiori rubbed her chin and frowned thoughtfully. Why did she even suggest it? It was such a shot in the dark and probably wouldn't even work! Well done her. "That could work," Shiori mused, folding her arms across her chest. Of course, she could do that. Why doubt her? "It might take some time though."  
  
The doctor nodded her head. "How long?"  
  
"Not a damn clue," she said with a sigh. "It'll be done when it's done."  
  
Fair enough. If she was moaning about the task, then it might take a while. "Need a hand with anything?"  
  
Shiori shook her head and stepped towards the generator. "Not until I have it up and running."  
  
"Then I'll leave you too it," Gabriella said, watching her tighten her ponytail. "Good luck."  
  
Shiori laughed, "I'm going to need it."  
  
"If you need me, just shout. I'll hear you." Shiori nodded and with that, Gabriella and Orion headed back to the break room.


	4. Chapter 4

The (debatably) good Doctor lay on the sofa with Orion's head on her lap. A single bright ball of energy hovered in the middle of the room, still acting as light in the darkness. It didn't take concentration to keep on, but if she got distracted enough, then it would quickly go away. Gabriella stroked Orion from the top of his head to the back of his neck, back to his head and down again. He looked up at her with bright eyes. "Where were you, eh? After Maria and I got Nick back to the bunker, you disappeared. What were you doing?" Sometimes she wished he could talk because he could answer a lot of questions she didn't have answers to. "At least you were safe and I've got you back." Orion barked happily and she kissed his head. "So, you found where I... exploded, huh? You might've been the runt of the litter, but look at you know. I knew you were destined for good things, boyo!" Gabriella ruffled his head and he gave her a toothy grin. "Well, what should I do now? Shiori's working away with the generator and I'm just sitting here useless." If Orion were human then he would look very pissed off at her and he tilted his head to the side. "What? It's true." The dog growled lightly. "Okay, fine, I'm not useless but I have to do _something_ but what?" The adorable dog nudged her prosthetic leg. "You want me to keep thinking _who_ wants me dead, don't you? It's all I've done since I got here and my head hurts." But Orion wasn't having any of it. He nudged her again, more roughly this time. "Alright, alright!" she laughed. "Okay. Who do I begin with?"  
  
About, maybe, an hour and a half or so later, a shout from Shiori made Gabriella snap awake from the nap she drifted into, and it really suddenly made her feel tired. Made sense. Her sleep did get interrupted. Anyway, she quickly shouted that she was on her way and made sure to hotfoot it to the generator room where Shiori was waiting for her. When she entered, the young woman was darting about and upon noticing her, proceeded to tell her what she had done to the generator. In a nutshell, she made she made a thing to (maybe) safely connect her to the generator to give it a kick-start in sending power around the place, so she didn't constantly have to put power into it. Shiori thrust a ramshackled USB-looking device into her hand. "Keep hold of that," she told her as she dashed over to a pile of wires. "That connects the machine to you. And these," Shiori grabbed two big clips and snapped them onto the USB thing, "these will keep you tethered to the generator and allow us measure now much power you are putting into the machine once it's working and I can see the input."  
  
Letting out an impressed whistle at what she's done, Gabriella smiled. "You did all this? Didn't you request a transfer from R &D?"  
  
"Yeah, that's me," she said with a laugh. "Don't get me wrong, I love R&D but I really want to be put in the field."  
  
Gabriella continued to watch her dash about the main generator and the backup one. "Field work is hard work, it's not for the faint of heart. It's very different from being a research lab."  
  
"I know that," Shiori replied, doing something between the two generators. "I could do undercover work."  
  
Perhaps when shit wasn't like this. "I don't think we need that anymore."  
  
"Maybe in the future?" she asked from under the main generator.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
Shiori got out from underneath and walked back over to her. "Right then, grip that tightly and we shall begin." The doctor gripped it tightly. "You'll be powering the main generator through the back-up because I think it'll be safer to do. Hopefully. Half of your input will go into the main and rest in the other. If we lose the main generator at least we'll have power in the back-up. When you're ready."  
  
Gabriella closed her eyes and released her powers, centering it within her hands. Slowly it flowed out of her, into the device in her hands, to the back-up generator and finally the main one. Both of the generators sluggishly whirred into life and she was honestly surprised that it was even working. She should really stop doubting Shiori; the girl was fantastic! Opening one eye, she found Shiori staring at her intently.  
  
"Fascinating," the younger woman muttered.  
  
Gabriella cracked a smile. "What is, Mister Spock?"  
  
"How this happened to you, captain," Shiori said with a smirk. The doctor opened her eyes fully and looked at the woman to continue. "I mean I read the report, the one the likes of me had access to anyway... if you hadn't have killed that woman then she'd have your abilities and you'd be dead." Gabriella didn't need reminding of _that_. "What if it was meant to happen?"  _What?_ "What if you and her were the _only_ two people in the whole world that could use O.R.B.S?" There was the possibility and that damn object was still a mystery, so maybe. Who knows. "Perhaps there was a different way things could have gone that wouldn't have resulted in the loss of your leg? Maybe you were supposed to gain those powers."  
  
She looked at the other woman quizzically. "Are you saying that some higher being wanted me to become what I now am?" Now she said it out loud, it sounded absolutely ridiculous. There were no higher beings watching her on this tiny ass planet that wanted _her_ to become a scientific freak. Her best guess was that it was some weird alien thing that just so happened to land on earth and be really attractive to a bunch of weird people obsessed with it.  
  
"Maybe," Shiori shrugged. "You never know. There's still a lot we don't know about the galaxy." Very true... A few lights flickered on and Shiori glanced to the generators. "Keep it up, doc. You're doing great."  
  
Maybe she _did_ want to know who those people were that were after the glowing blue object that changed her life. They had to have known it existed before that day and someone _had_ to have told them S.H.I.E.L.D had taken it. How much did they know about it? How did they know it existed?  
  
That woman.  
  
Gabriella never found who she was or what her group were doing on the Hellicarrier all those years ago. Not even Teagan could help. They both had a feeling Nick knew or still does know who they were and what they wanted, but she had to accept that she wouldn't know and probably would never know... But she secretly _really_ wanted to. She was dying to know what the thing she absorbed really was.  
  
That woman.  
  
The woman rose from the dead after being shot in the head. Something that was impossible. _Completely impossible_. Where she shot her meant zero chance for survival but no. She damn survived!  
  
_Something grabbed her leg and yanked her to the ground. She landed hard and all the air left her body. Her eyes widened. The person who stood by O.R.B.S_ survived _the_ gunshot _to the_ head. _"What?!" she yelled._  
  
It was impossible! She shot her _right_ in the forehead! There was _no way_ she could get up and recover that quickly! Or survive! That crazy woman shouldn't have survived!  
  
_The woman put a finger to her lips and hushed Gabriella._  
  
Orion started barking loudly.  
  
Power surged from Gabriella like a tidal wave crushing a city made it twigs, causing the generators to explode and plunge them all into darkness. _That woman smile back at her._ "No, no, no, no," Gabriella mumbled, shaking her head. Her heart raced like a hummingbird's, fingertips grew numb and her head _hurt_. She staggered backwards, dropping the USB. She hit the wall.  
  
"Doc!" Shiori shouted, her voice full of concern in the _darkness_. It was coming for her again. The dark tendrils surrounded her as she fell to the floor. Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut and buried her head in her clammy hands. _Damn it!_ Wherever she went, that _damn_ woman was following her! She thought she had lost that crazy-eyed lady a long time ago but _no_ , she was _still_ haunting her! She _didn't die_! She shot her clean in the head and she didn't die! She died the _second time_ but there _shouldn't_ have been a second time! Her whole body trembled and Orion tried hard to get under her hands. "Gabriella?" Shiori asked again, switching on her flashlight.

The whole room was spinning, everything was far too loud and everything was so much brighter. Put that light out! Orion pushed his head under her hands and licked her chin.  
  
She had to _breathe_. She was _safe_. No one was going to hurt her. Gabriella took in a breath. She was safe. She was with Orion. She was with Shiori. Gabriella breathed out. _She. Was. Safe._ Nothing was hurting her in here. With a very deep breath, she opened her eyes to see Shiori crouched beside her and Orion looking up at her concerned.  
  
"I'm... sorry," she mumbled.  
  
"You're- You're sorry? Don't apologise for that." Her friend shook her head. "I pushed you too hard." Was she not aware of her almost having a bad panic attack? Shiori did have no clue what she was thinking about, so maybe she thought using her powers caused a freak-out. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything?" she asked, clearly very worried. Yes. A hug from Teagan would be good, or a nice warm tea, or perhaps a really long soak in a warm bath. But all of those were unable to happen at the moment.  
  
"No," she breathed, pushing back deep feelings of dread. "No... no.." Gabriella sighed. "Do we have power yet?"  
  
Shiori shook her head, "I don't know. I haven't had time to check."  
  
"Then check it. We have to have power."  
  
"Doct-"  
  
"Shiori," she snapped, gradually getting to her feet and using the wall to help her. No. She was fine. They needed power. They needed power. "Leave me, I'm fine. Check the status of the generator. We need this place on lockdown."  
  
"Gabriella, I understand that but I don't know what just happened to you, so you need to take it easy."  
  
"I told you, I'm fine."  
  
"No, you're not," she shook her head. "Orion, go take her back to her room and make sure she relaxes."  
  
She completely understood why Shiori was doing this but she was okay now and they had to have power to this place! Orion nudged her leg and let out a whine. Actually... she should really listen to her. After _that_ , she needed some quiet but the power, they- _Just shut up and sleep_. It's what _she_ needed and her needs came first, not this damn place. Sleep damn it! Gabriella sighed. "Okay. I see your points. I'll go and calm down."  
  
Shiori smiled and her dark eyes shone. "Thank you, doctor." With Orion nudging the back of her knee, Gabriella left the generator room to Shiori's laughter.  
  
The pair made it to the doctor's bedroom and she flopped down on the bed like a dead fish, exhaling for a considerable amount of time after she landed. Orion leaped onto the bed and rubbed his head against her arm with a quiet whine. Still sweating and shaking from her panic attack, her mouth was as dry as a desert and Orion tired his best to help her out. No matter how hard she swallowed, her mouth was still dry and her calm breathing didn't help much either. Gabriella closed her eyes and thought of something happy distract her...  
  
The day she was accepted into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Academy of Operations. What a day that was! She had washed out the previous year after a week because she was _not_ prepared for the intense first week. It was _insane_ , and she was thankful that she wasn't the only one that couldn't last. The year wait to reapply was long and grueling but it was all worth it in the end. She made it back in and she succeeded! It didn't bother her the she wasn't top of the class or that she barely managed to graduate at all. Despite all that, she made it!  
  
Then there was the post-graduation party. What a damn _wild_ ride that was. That was the first time she got thoroughly drunk. Every one of her classmates were underage but her logic very quickly left her and it was during that really drunk night, according to _everyone_ , her drunk ass got naked and ran around the entire academy complex. _Naked_. Like a freaking idiot. Why? Not a clue, but she did it.  
  
Gabriella chuckled at the memory. What an utter moron she was. If only she remembered the rest of that party, then it would be more good memories to combat the bad. Why the human mind felt the need to constantly remind her of past fuck-ups and embarrassing moments was beyond her.  
  
A soft knock made her attention change from staring at the back of her eyelids to the door where Shiori stood. Oh! The lights were back on, finally ridding the bunker of darkness. Shiori had a mug in her hands and Gabriella smiled. "Good job, kiddo. You got the lights working."  
  
" _You_ got the lights working."  
  
" _You_ made it possible."  
  
Orion barked annoyed.  
  
"Alright, we both contributed," Gabriella said, and Shiori laughed, stepping into the room. "So, what else have you got on?"  
  
"Lights obviously, and I got the hot water running too. This is yours," she handed her the hot mug of tea and Gabriella was very grateful. "It'll take a little longer to get this place on lockdown but I've managed to shut all exterior entrances." Good. They were secure enough for now but she needed the cameras operational and the proximity sensors too, but, hey, it was better than nothing. "Now, unfortunately, we lost the main generator but the back-up is working fine and we have enough power for about, I'd say, four days or so." During the short pause that followed, Gabriella sipped her drink and Shiori looked her up and down with a concerned face. "How are you, doc?"  
  
Gabriella nodded and lowered the mug away from her lips, "Much better, thank you."  
  
"Whenever you're ready, if you want, we can try the generators again, but only when you're ready," Judging by the tone of her voice, Shiori was deeply concerned about her and her almost panic attack... But she couldn't tell her what happened, they had more important things to worry about than her well-being. If they don't find out who wants her dead, she'll have no _being_ to worry about.  
  
"I think later would be ideal."  
  
"Me too," she agrees with a nod. Shiori cleared her throat, "While you're here, did you need me to do anything?  
  
"There is. Check S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA communication frequencies and records from the last few days, go back weeks if you have to, for people who might want me dead or strange personnel requests or prisoner transfers. If you need clearance or stuff like that, ask me and I'll see what I can do."  
  
After patting Orion on the head, she stood up. "I'll see what I can do to. It's not going to be easy."  
  
Gabriella smiled at her. "I have faith in you." Shiori laughed at that and left the room, telling her to get some more rest.  
  
Rest was definitely a good idea at this point because she was still a little shaky. The doctor took one final sip of her tea, turned off all but one light before climbing back into bed. Orion shuffled beside her as he got comfortable, eventually curling up beside her right leg. Oh, shit! Her other leg! Laughing to herself, Gabriella quickly took off her other leg and shoved it to the floor. It didn't take long for her to get comfy and surprisingly, sleep came quickly too. Hopefully it would relieve her of her stresses.


End file.
